Design & Innovation

I only recently learned about the Blue Man Group (I’ve never actually seen a show), and immediately made a connection to this class. As we talked about Cirque du Soleil as a blue ocean in some of our classes, I think the Blue Man Group found a blue ocean strategy as well. It has been able to creatively integrate music, theatre, design and comedy in order to entertain its audience. The creative integration of these elements really makes the Blue Man Group stand out from other entertainment shows.

As I did more research about the Blue Man Group, I learned that its unique and innovative way of entertainment is popular in various parts of the world, as well as to a broad range of age groups and cultures. Its success shows the demand for such a new and “different” kind of entertainment. This also applies to Cirque du Soleil, which also has become a popular and exciting new form of entertainment. Below are both websites for the Blue Man Group, as well as Cirque du Soleil.

http://www.blueman.com/index.php

http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/default.htm

“Giant Steps” is a Jazz piece by John Coltrane that was released in 1959 that uses symmetrical patterns derived from a mathematical representation of the musical scale. 

GiANT STEPS is an animated short film by Michal Levy based on John Coltrane’s jazz piece of the same name.  Michal Levy uses vibrantly colored cubic animations to exemplify the musical score of Coltrane.  I was intrigued by how the creation of this visual representation of music as an animated film parallels the design and innovation process.  Using the music with its mathematical structure and digital media as constraints, a wonderful and creative visual representation is created and the resulting animation changed my perception of the music from when I had heard it previously. 

Check out the animation (only 2 minutes long) and read more at Michal Levy’s website

http://www.michallevy.com/